Friday Sermon: Companions of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace)

April 8th, 2011

Today Hudhur related some traditions of the companions of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). Hudhur said he has tried to bring new traditions to the fore, so that we may know about those who took their Bai’at on the hand of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV had also started a series of sermons and addresses on this subject and Hudhur would like to continue with the emphasis on introducing new companions. These traditions expound the sincerity and loyalty of the companions as well as the high spiritual station of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace).

Hadhrat Hafiz Muhammad Ibrahim sahib (may Allah be pleased with him): He had his first audience with the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) in 1900 when he also took his Ba’ait on his hand, although he had done that by post the previous year. He was introduced to Ahmadiyyat via his close friend and teacher who had given him books to read. Later, he had a dream in which he saw the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and asked him if the claim of ‘Mirza sahib’ was truthful. He was given an answer in the affirmative, upon which he asked if the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) could say this on oath, and he replied, ‘I do not need to make an oath, I am the trustee of the heavens and the earth’. Hafiz sahib wrote a letter of Bai’at in the morning and went to Qadian a year later to take his Bai’at in person.

Hadhrat Master Khalilur Rahman sahib (may Allah be pleased with him): He took his Bai’at in 1896 as a fourteen year old. In 1898, he went to Qadian early for the Jalsa and remained in the company of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). During a trip of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) to Jhelum, again he remained in his company to serve him and at the Jalsa of 1907, he had his last audience with the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) when he remained in Qadian for a week and a half.

During his first visit to Qadian, he had the opportunity to offer his Salat in the same row, just one or two persons away from the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). After the five daily Prayers, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) would stay in the mosque for half an hour or so, giving valuable advice. He would eat the evening meal with everyone after Maghrib Salat and up till the time of Isha Prayers advised his devotees. Master sahib had the opportunity to massage the Promised Messiah’s (on whom be peace) hands and feet. As he was young at the time, he would be in awe of the high spiritual station of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and did not ever say anything to him, although the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) spoke with compassion and in the manner of a tutor and guardian.

Hadhrat Hafiz Ghulam Rasul Wazirabadi (may Allah be pleased with him): He took his Bai’at in 1897. He related that once the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) gathered a few friends at his residence and addressing them said that he had established the High School so that people would seek knowledge from there and then go on to propagate the message of truth to mankind, but people learned English language from there and became involved in worldly matters. He wished to have a school that would exclusively give religious education. He asked if there was anyone willing to send his child to such a school. Hafiz sahib related that at that time his son Ubaidullah was about seven years old and he gave his son to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) there and then. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) held young Ubaidullah with his blessed hand and asked a school peon to admit the boy to the Ahmadiyya school. The very same ‘Ubaidullah’ attained a Maulwi Fazil degree from this school and was sent to Mauritius as a missionary in the era of Khilafat e Ahmadiyya II. He served there for seven years and then, in the words of Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih II (may Allah be pleased with him) was given the title of the first shaheed (martyr) of India.

Hafiz sahib related that once he went to see the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) during his trip to Gurdaspur. He found him resting with his face covered when Hafiz sahib started massaging him. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) took the covers off his face and recognising him, asked after Hafiz sahib. Hafiz sahib was delighted and remarked that the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) had recognised him, upon which the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said, ‘Hafiz Ji, now, would I not recognise you!’ This was a source of delight for Hafiz sahib as he remembered that the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) had said: ‘One who recognises me and whom I recognise will be protected from the plague’. Later in the day, it was mentioned that it was a Friday, and Maulwi Abdul Kareem was not around and it was wondered who would lead the Prayers. Without any hesitation, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said as Hafiz sahib was there, he would lead Prayers. Hafiz sahib was overwhelmed as he felt himself to be completely inadequate and sinful in the presence of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and hoped the plan would change as Friday Prayer was a while away. However when the time came, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) called for him. Hafiz sahib whispered to him that he was sinful and did not have the courage to stand ahead of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). However, he asked him to step ahead, assuring him that he would pray for him. Hafiz sahib recited a few verses of Surah Al Furqan and gave a sermon. He could see that the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) was praying for him and he felt his power of speech enhancing. He related that since that day he did not ever hesitate in any discussion. Hafiz sahib related that once, after the passing away of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) Khawaja Kamal ud din sahib said those who studied at Madrassa Ahmadiyya ‘will become mullah, what could they do’, and suggested the school should be shut down. Hearing this, Mian Mahmood (Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih II, may Allah be pleased with him) demonstrated his supreme resolve, stood up and said, ‘this school was made by the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and it shall continue and InshaAllah, it will produce scholars who will propagate the message of truth’. This silenced Khawaja sahib. Indeed, people who were educated in this school went on to do Tabligh around the world.

Hafiz sahib related that once the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) was asked if he could write commentaries of all the Surahs of the Holy Qur’an. He replied that he had written commentaries that he felt were needed at the time and added, what if in the instance of a complete commentary written, in future times further objections were raised. God would then appoint another person to answer these objections.

Hadhrat Khan Munshi Barkat Ali sahib (may Allah be pleased with him): He was a Director General of Indian Medical Service. He took his Bai’at in 1901 and also had an audience with the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) in the same year. He related that he first heard about the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) from his neighbours and thus a series of questions and answers regarding issues like death of Jesus (on whom be peace) started. Gradually, he developed faith. In those days the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) was having a debate with someone and had insisted that in this regard an Arabic commentary of the Holy Qur’an should be written by the contenders. The opposing person had a poster published stating 24 points that, God forbid, made the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) a heretic. The poster had extracts from the books of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). Munshi sahib asked his Ahmadi acquaintances to provide him with the original books of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). Upon checking, he found that while the extracts were correct, most of them were taken out of context and were misrepresented.

Hudhur said, this is exactly what goes on today. Extracts from the books of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) are taken out of context and are presented in fragmented form and are thus used against him. Hudhur said our [MTA] programme ‘Rah e Huda’ as well as the web site that has been launched, is addressing this issue and providing the references. With the grace of God, there are people around who are searching and Bai’ats are taking place as a result. Hudhur said this has always been a ploy of our detractors and is nothing new. At times, people are nervous; when the web site was launched, Asif sahib, who is in-charge said that the site was inundated and responses could not be given accordingly. Hudhur told him to wait and see, the furore would fizzle out. When our responses were also given out with corresponding thrust, the surge stopped. They are now going onto other sites and saying that [Ahmadis] do not give accurate access, whereas in fact they are disappointed themselves.

Munshi Barkat Ali sahib related that the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) penned his book, ‘Ijazul Masih’ and challenged his opponent to write a response within a period of time. The opponent wrote a book in Urdu, not Arabic, and that too was later found out to be plagiarised. This is when Munshi sahib was inclined towards Ahmadiyyat. He read the Holy Qur’an from start till end and studied its Urdu translation and realised that there were many verses about death of Jesus (on whom be peace) in it. During the 1901 census, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) had said that those who had believed in Ahmadiyyat in their hearts should state themselves as Ahmadi in the census. Although Hafiz sahib had not yet taken his Bai’at, he had started making monetary donations (Chanda), he put himself down as an Ahmadi in the census. He had a dream in which the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) asked him, ‘Barkat Ali, when will you come our way?’ Hafiz sahib took his Bai’at and the real scenario in which he took his Bai’at amazingly matched what he had dreamed. Once during Jalsa days, he heard that the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) wished that all the Ahmadis walked through the marketplace so that the Hindus and non-Muslims could see how many people from afar came to Qadian.

Hudhur said how much should today’s Ahmadis praise God that the progeny of those elders are spread all over the world today, each family reaching into hundreds, plus the newcomers. The world knows about us, we get newspaper and TV coverage. We could never thank God enough for this.

In 1900 when division of Bengal was popularly debated, Hafiz sahib wrote an article on Human Rights. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) disliked rebellion and Hafiz sahib wrote the article in light of the Promised Messiah’s teachings and sent it to him, who graciously sent it for publication in Al Badr. Hudhur said considering the current world situation, we should be mindful of these teachings.

Prior to the construction of Minaratul Masih, which faced much opposition from Hindus of Qadian, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) was told that the local government officers were coming the following day in this regard. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) advised that they should be suitably welcomed. He added that the construction of the Minar was destined and none could stop it.

Munshi sahib related that from before his Bai’at he used to participate in a ‘fortune fund’ with his office colleagues. Later, he asked the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) about this who told him it was not warrantable and told him to give any money he had obtained from the ‘fortune fund’ towards publication of Islam.

Hadhrat Muhammad Ismaeel sahib (may Allah be pleased with him): He was a born Ahmadi who had his first audience with the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) in 1904. When he was about 20 years old, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) came to Gurdaspur for a court case. Ismaeel sahib went to have an audience with him along with his father at the place of his residence. It was summer time. He started fanning the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace), who looked at him, smiled at his father and said, ‘Mian Ismaeel has come and partaken in sawab’ (spiritual merit). Ismaeel sahib related that each time he remembers the incident he felt elated.

Hadhrat Muhammad Akbar sahib (may Allah be pleased with him): A mosque lay vacant in their neighbourhood which Ahmadis populated. A non-Ahmadi maulwi came to the neighbourhood and started inciting people that Ahmadis should be expelled from the mosque. He gathered a few boys and started giving them lessons in the mosque and held separate congregational Salat there as well as gave separate sermons. A retired police officer relative of Muhammad Akbar sahib incited the police to report that there was risk of rioting between Ahmadis and non-Ahmadis in the neighbourhood and security money should be taken from leaders of both the parties. Akbar sahib wrote to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) about the enmity of his relative and his report to the police and requested for prayers. The Promised Messiah very graciously wrote back and advised not to be nervous, with God’s grace the outcome would be good. He advised against giving/paying any ‘security’ and said if this meant the mosque had to be vacated it should be done. A short while later, his retired police officer relative fell ill and died. And as a result of a flood in the river, the part of the city where the mosque stood, was destroyed, and the mosque fell. Later, the city was rebuilt and Ahmadis constructed a new mosque.

Hadhrat Nazam ud din sahib (may Allah be pleased with him): He related that in 1904 the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) visited Sialkot, where he lived, and advised: ‘In order to incite you, people are abusive about me. But you should never be provoked by this abuse and should not be abusive in return. If you are abusive to them in response, they will be abusive about me and this abuse will not be from them, but will be from you. On the contrary, you should pray for them when they are abusive and be kind and affectionate to them, so that they become closer to you.’ Next, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) cited the example of the Companions of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and how gracious they were in face of the persecution by the pagans of Makkah.

Munshi Abdullah sahib Ahmadi sahib (may Allah be pleased with him): He took his Bai’at in 1902 when he was 13 years old. His Bai’at came about after a dream he had. He was also taught by Maulwi Abdul Kareem Sialkoti sahib. After the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) had been to Sialkot to make his claim, he asked for a list of those who had persecuted the Ahmadis in Sialkot. A few days after these names were listed, a terrible bout of plague spread in Sialkot, in which God’s decree particularly destroyed those families.

Hadhrat Muhammad Yahya sahib (may Allah be pleased with him): He had his first audience with the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) in 1904. His father had taken his Bai’at in Ludhiana, and in the past had been a certified maulwi of the Deoband sect. He had first visited Qadian in 1892 and had stayed in the ‘Gol’ room where traditionally the guests were accommodated in those early days. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) used to take his meals with the guests and went out of his way to serve them condiments etc. to accompany their meal, fetching them himself, during the course of the meal. Hardly eating himself and delighting in serving the guest. When Yahya sahib was a young boy, and boarded at Taleem ul Islam school, he would happily run errands for Hadhrat Amul Momineen, Hadhrat Amman Jan (may Allah be pleased with her).

Hudhur prayed that may God elevate the station of these elders and may He continue to preserve the true essence of Ahmadiyyat in their families. May God draw our attention towards reformation and enhance our faith. Each new day may bring renewed love of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him), love for Ahmadiyyat, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) in us and may we be ever drawn to practice the teachings of the Holy Qur’an.